[R-sig-DB] license issues R vs. PostgreSQL

[Andrew Piskorski]

Hello, Joe Conway <mail using joeconway.com> recently announced on the
PostgreSQL hackers list that he will soon be releasing PL/R, R
embedded as a procedural language inside Postgres:

  http://archives.postgresql.org/pgsql-hackers/2003-02/msg00142.php

For code maintenance and enhancement reasons, it seems that both Joe
and the Postgres developers would like to have PL/R in the Postgres
main source tree.  However, the Postgres people are insist on a BSD
license for anything in that repository.  (I'm not sure why exactly.)
Now, Joe apparently is happy to license his code under BSD, but he
used libR, which I think is only licensed under GPL, *not* LGPL.
Which means that Joe can't use the BSD license, right?

Basically, resolving this license issue is the only thing preventing
Joe from releasing PL/R, something I and many Postgres users would
definitely like to see!

So, do you have any suggestions for possible solutions, or whom Joe
should talk to?

May Joe use the BSD license on his PL/R code as things currently stand
with R?  What license changes would need to happen in R for Joe to
license PL/R under BSD?  Would the R project be willing to make such
changes?

I also posted another version of this same question with some
additional information here:

  http://openacs.org/forums/message-view?message_id=78404

-- 
Andrew Piskorski <atp using piskorski.com>
http://www.piskorski.com